I think if you're a teaching fellow, you will have to go for your teaching masters at the same time, which can take 2 years. I'm not sure if there is any further requirement, I know many department of education programs nad scholarships requre a 4 year commitment, so that's something to look into.
The school I work at has several teaching fellows. As a teaching fellow, you don't exactly have the choice to pick what school you want, they'll place you in the high need areas. I work at a special ed high school in Brooklyn, and we have about 4 or 5 teaching fellows right now. You will get the same starting salary and benefits as regular teachers, but you will need to be paying for a subsidized masters at the same time, so it's tough, working and going to school.
As far as it being enough to live on, it should be. Don't expect to afford a place in Manhattan though. We have one fellow who came from upstate NY, and he first came down with his car. Then, he realized he didn't need it and paying for the insurance and rent was too much, so he got rid of it. He does live close to the school though, so he walks. The benefits are really good thouhg. You get full dental, medical, and optical as well as a prescription plan. For a medical visit, it's a $20 copay, I don't think you pay anything for a dental cleaning. Most prescriptions will cost about $15, so it's not bad. Also, you don't need any referals.
Thing with working in a school though, and applying for med school, you will miss a lot of days for interviews. You get only 10 sick days a year, missing anything more is not good. Also, a lot fo schools want a doctor's note if you were out sick, it looks better than just not having a note. If you do miss a lot of days, people will talk, they'll start to resent you. I see it happening because one of the fellows just doesn't show up too often. She gets no security support when the class acts up, the school aides just ignore her because she's always out.
Also, if you work special ed, the kids need a routine. If you're there everyday, they build up a rapport with you and don't give you many problems. HOwever, if you're there one week, out a couple days the next, you break their routine and they will act up in your class when you're there.
In my personal opinion though, this is not a program I would do if you eventually want to go to med school. You will most likely be placed in the most difficult schools because that's where they need people the most. Also, you don't take a job like this because you want the health insurance. I'm not sure how it is in the midwest, but in NY, you can get pretty cheap health insurance through government programs. Also, don't forget the commitment it requires. The fellow that I'm closest with is always exhausted. Teaching 5 days a week and then school at night, it's tough. I've seen her several times sleeping at her desk at school because she's so exhausted. The kids are exhausting enough.
I also thought about one of those programs, but iit's not worth it for me. I knew my eventual goal was medical school, I didn't want to spend 2 years getting a masters' I don't need or want. Instead, I've worked as a day to day sub from September-January (when I went on most of my interviews) and since February, I'm a full time sub until May in a special ed high school. As a sub, you dont have to call in sick to go on interviews, you just say you're not available that day. I also don't have to hide the fact that I'm going to med shcool from anybody. When I got my first acceptance, the principal made an announcement over the loudspeaker. As a fellow, you will have to hide your med school applications because you will get a lot of backlash. People will question your committment, reasoning for doing this, and really won't give you any support. As a full time sub, I can say the other teachers have all been great because they know that people who are subs don't do this forever. They give me materials, help me with lessons, help me with the students if they act up.
I would just really think about it. It's going to be tough, especially if you don't have any prior teaching experience. The principal will scrutinize your work and classroom more closely than experienced teachers, you just have to be sure you're doing this for the right reason.
